Pune 23 September 2025: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has stated that the state government is determined to transform Pune into a city with the best infrastructure in stages by 2029, 2035, and 2047.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Pune Navratri Festival 2025 at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch in Swargate, Bawankule said the Chief Minister is closely monitoring Pune’s development and visits the city every two weeks.
Bawankule highlighted Pune’s status as a religious, cultural, and educational hub. He also mentioned that measures such as a one-time tax system could be considered to improve traffic management and ease tax processes for citizens.
He emphasized that the government’s policies aim to benefit the poor and middle class, and praised the GST reforms by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he described as a “gift to the country” while promoting local production.
The festival inauguration was attended by several dignitaries including Minister of State for Urban Development, Transport, Social Justice and Medical Education Madhuri Misal, senior leader Ulhas Pawar, BJP city president Dheeraj Ghate, former Home Minister Ramesh Bagwe, and others.
During the event, senior social activist Girish Prabhune was honoured with the Maharshi Award. Prominent academics and social workers, including Dr. Parag Kalkar of Savitribai Phule Pune University, Dr. Shailendra Devlankar, Dr. Medha Samant, and artist Pramila Lodekar, received the Lakshmimata Jeevan Gaurav Award.
Special honours were also given to Dr. Mayur Kardile and Dr. Arvind Khomane. The event featured a cultural program with various musical performances, conducted by Shilpa Deshpande.
Bawankule’s speech and the festival discussions also touched upon Pune’s traffic congestion issues. Local leaders suggested that attention to traffic planning and implementing strategic reforms like a one-time tax could help alleviate ongoing problems.